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Twins announce Diamond Award winners

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins announced the winners of the Diamond Awards, the club’s annual awards for the 2012 season based on voting conducted by the Twin Cities chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Left fielder Josh Willingham was named the Twins’ Most Valuable Player as the recipient of the Calvin R. Griffith Award. And left-hander Scott Diamond was named both the Twins’ Pitcher of the Year, receiving the Joseph W. Haynes Award, and the Twins’ Most Outstanding Rookie receiving the Bill Boni Award.

The awards will be given out at the eighth annual Diamond Awards dinner on Jan. 24, 2013, at Target Field. The event will benefit brain, nerve and muscle disorders research at the University of Minnesota.

Additionally, outfielder Ben Revere won the Charles O. Johnson Award given to the Twins’ Most Improved Player and will be the first-ever recipient of the Jim Kaat Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Catcher Joe Mauer was also named the winner of the Dick Siebert Award given to the Upper Midwest Player of the Year. It’s the fifth time the St. Paul native has won the award.

For the second time in his career, first baseman Justin Morneau won the Bob Allison Award given to the Twins player who exemplifies determination, hustle, tenacity, competitive spirit and leadership both on and off the field. And left-hander Glen Perkins was named the winner of the Mike Augustin Award given to the Twins player who fosters healthy relations with the media.

The eighth annual Diamond Awards dinner will honor the 2012 BBWAA award recipients as well as the winners of the Sherry Robertson Award (Oswaldo Arcia, Twins Minor League Player of the Year), the Jim Rantz Award (B.J. Hermsen, Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year), the Carl R. Pohlad Community Service Award (Denard Span) and the Kirby Puckett Award for alumni community service (Roy Smalley).

All proceeds from the event will benefit the University of Minnesota’s innovative research and patient care focused on ataxia, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). For more information on the event, call (612) 624-8668 or visit http://www.minnesotadiamondawards.org.

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